Thursday, June 24, 2010

A few weeks ago, Camemberu, Momo and I went to try out the Malay Food at this place called Roszy's Tiffin House. You would have read about it. It's all over the newspapers, food magazines, blogs.

Why is it call Roszy's Tiffin House? Roszy's the lady owner and it's because it has been Roszy's dream to have her own restaurant. She wants everyone to savour good wholesome home-cooked food from Java, Indonesia that her grandfather originated long ago.Their recipe is from her grandfather that has been passed to her mum (who is a chef) and now to her and her husband Ian.

Her dreams and hard work came into fruition in Jan 2010.

In short, we liked her food!

***

Wondered what we ate?
This was the Nasi Lemak Set. $8. It was one of the daily sets that we noticed on the offers of the day.

The sambal, acar and ikan bilis with kacang was good. You know when things are done with patience and sincerity, you can kinda feel it in the food you eat although it is common food.

We were three hungry people, so we ordered a few things and not sure what comes with what!
I think probably this Ayam Masak Merah (Malay Style Chicken in Red Sauce) came as part of the Nasi Lemak Set? The ayam was really pleasant. I must confess I have this love for Ayam Masak Merah, so I might be a bit bias. :-)

For the rice, they use basmati rice. A luxury for nasi lemak right?
It was topped with a crispy sides fried egg. The rice with the eggs, cucumbers, sambal, acar in your mouth, I am sure you will love it!

***

This was the Ikan Asam Pedas. (Spicy Tamarind Fish) $5.50.

We usually expect it to be very sour and spicy, but their is the milder version.
If you do not take very spicy food and want to try it out for the first time, you can order this.(You better ask first, just in case they have 'spici-fied' this dish.)

***

Now, this is the dish that's very popular here. It's a communal dish that in the old kampung days, people will 'bungkus' (pack) back some of it after a 'kenduri' (feast).

Authentic Nasi Ambeng (shown here is a single person serving for $18)

On top of the rice is a banana leaf that separates the dishes and the rice. Right above the banana leave is 'sambal goreng' (tempe, tofu, long beans spicy mix), then above it, 'terung sambal' (spicy brinjal/aubergine). It's then topped with Begedel (potato patties), Tauhu Goreng (fried tofu), Tempe (fried fermented bean cakes) and Ikan Tenggiri Goreng (Fried Spanish Mackeral)

To eat it, you split the banana leaf from the middle so that the ingredients will now rest directly on the rice. The banana leaf is the barrier that prevents the rice from being soggy.

I found a video by Roszy's Tiffin House on how to assemble their Nasi Ambeng here.
You should order the 3 to 4 person when you come here as a group!

***

We also wanted to try their Beef Rendang ($6.50).
Another of my favourite malay dishes!

***

The Terung Sambal. (Spicy aubergine/brinjal and long beans) $3.50
It was mouth watering!

***

This was the Sup Buntut (Oxtail Soup). A comfort soup indeed.

This is a good place to go if you want to enjoy some home style Javanese food.

Oh yes, when it was time for us to pay for our meals and leave, we went to the counter to pay and the owners said the meal's on them.

Ian shared to us about Roszy's dream and how they finally opened this place. Guess who is the QC for the food? Ian's mother-in-law. She's a picky person and insist things must be done the traditional and time consuming way. It was only recently that Ian and Roszy convinced her to use the blender instead of the lesung (mortar) for pounding their spices and aromatics!